Simplifying and streamlining the federal procurement process : hearing before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress

142 Pages·1996·6.2 MB·English

by  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology

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\SIMPUFYING AND STUEAMUNING TOE FEDERAL
PROCUREMENT PROCESS
4. G 74/7: P 94/26
plifying and Streanlining the Fe.
.
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT,
INFORMATION, AND TECHNOLOGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
FEBRUARY
28, 1995
Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
MAy
S
1996
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
22-356CC WASHINGTON 1996
:
Forsalebythe U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments,Congressional SalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-052334-6

.
SIMPUFYING AND STUEAMUNING THE FEDERAL
PROCUREMENT PROCESS
G 74/7: P 94/26
.
Lifying and Streanlining the Fe.
.
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNIMENT MANAGEMENT,
INFORMATION, AND TECHNOLOGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT
REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
FEBRUARY
28, 1995
IMnted for the use of the Conunittee on Government Reform and Oversight
'-i'W>
MAV
6
1996
'Hft? ,.-»t.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
22-356 CC WASraNGTON 1996
:
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments,Congressional SalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-052334-6
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNfMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT
WILLIAM F. CLINGER, Jr., Pennsylvania, Chairman
BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois
DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland TOM LANTOS, California
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia
STEVEN SCHIFF, New Mexico MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
WILLIAM H. ZELIFF, JR., New Hampshire JOHN M. SPRATT, JR., South Carolina
JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New
STEPHEN HORN, California York
JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
PETER BLUTE, Massachusetts GARY A. CONDIT, California
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia COLLIN C. PETERSON, Minnesota
DAVID M. McINTOSH, Indiana KAREN L. THURMAN, Florida
JON D. FOX, Pennsylvania CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
RANDY TATE, Washington THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin
DICK CHRYSLER, Michigan GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi
GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota BARBARA-ROSE COLLINS, Michigan
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
WILLIAM J. MARTINI, New Jersey Columbia
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida JAMES P. MORAN, Virginia
JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona GENE GREEN, Texas
MICHAEL PATRICK FLANAGAN, Illinois CARRIE P. MEEK, Florida
CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire FRANK MASCARA, Pennsylvania
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania
MARSHALL "MARK" SANFORD, South
Carolina BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
ROBERT L. EHRLICH, Jr., Maryland (Independent)
James L. Clarke, StaffDirector
Kevin Sabo, General Counsel
Ellen B. Brown, Procurement Counsel
Judith McCoy, ChiefClerk
Bud Myers, Minority StaffDirector
Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology
STEPHEN HORN, California, Chairman
MICHAEL PATRICK FLANAGAN, Illinois CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
PETER BLUTE, Massachusetts MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Viiiginia FRANK MASCARA, Pennsylvania
JON D. FOX, Pennsylvania ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia
RANDY TATE, Washington JOHN M. SPRATT, JR., South Carolina
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire
Ex Officio
WILLIAM F. CLINGER, Jr., Pennsylvania CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois
J. Russell George, StaffDirector
Susan Marshall, Procurement Specialist
Andrew G. Richardson, Clerk
Ron Stroman, Minority Deputy StaffDirector
(II)
CONTENTS
Page
Hearing held on February 28, 1995 1
Statement of:
Clinger, Hon. William F., a Representative in Congress from the State
ofPennsylvania 2
Fox, Hon. Jon, a Representative in Congress from the State ofPennsylva-
nia 4
Horn, Hon. Stephen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
California 4
Kelman, Steven, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office
of Management and Budget; Colleen A. Preston, Deputy Undersecre-
tary for Acquisition Reform, Department of Defense; and Robert P.
Murphy, general counsel, General Accounting Office 6
Maloney, Hon. Carolyn, a Representative in Congress from the State
ofNew York 3
McKay, Bernard F., AT&T, for the computer and communications infor-
mation association; Randall I. Cole, HFSI, for the Information Tech-
nology Association of America; Bruce E. Leinster, IBM Corp., for the
Information Technology Industry Council; and Dennis Cossey, Innotek
Corp 72
Miller, John B., Gadsby & Hannah, for the Section of Public Contract
Law, American Bar Association; Robert F. Trimble, Procurement
Roundtable; and William J. Mielke, Ruekert Mielke Consultants, for
the Council on Federal Procurement ofArchitectural/Engineering Serv-
ices 109
Turner, Ron, Computing Devices, Inc., for the Acquisition Reform Work-
ing Group; John C. Custer, Mason & Hangar, Mason-Silas, Inc., for
ARWG; and Carl Guerreri, Electronic Warfare Associates, for ARWG .... 45
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:
Clinger, Hon. William F., a Representative in Congress from the State
ofPennsylvania, prepared statement of 3
Cole, Randall I., HFSI, for the Information Technology Association of
America, prepared statement of 84
Collins, Hon. Cardiss, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Illinois, prepared statement of 125
Cossey, Denms, Innotek Corp., prepared statement of 96
Custer, John C., Mason & Hangar, Mason-Silas, Inc., for ARWG, pre-
pared statement of 54
Fox, Hon. Jon, a Representative in Congress from the State ofPennsylva-
nia, prepared statement of 4
Guerreri, Carl, Electronic Warfare Associates, for ARWG:
Answers to follow-up questions 71
Prepared statement of 58
Horn, Hon. Stephen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
California, prepared statement of 5
Kelman, Steven, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office
ofManagement and Budget:
Answers to follow-up questions 40
Prepared statement of 8
Leinster, Bruce E., IBM Corp., for the Information Technology Industiy
Council, prepared statement of 90
Mascara, Hon. Frank, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Pennsylvania, prepared statement of 5
McKay, Bernard F., AT&T, for the Computer and Communications Infor-
mation Association, prepared statement of 73
(III)
IV
Page
—
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by Continued
Mielke, William J., Ruekert Mielke Consultants, for the Council on Fed-
eral Procurement ofArchitectural/Engineering Services, prepared state-
ment of 118
Miller, John B., Gadsby & Hannah, for the Section of Public Contract
Law, American Bar Association, prepared statement of 110
Murphy, Robert P., general counsel. General Accounting Office, prepared
statement of 23
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, prepared state-
ment of 131
Preston, Colleen A., Deputy Undersecrettuy for Acquisition Reform, De-
Eartment ofDefense, prepared statement of 15
weizer, Paul H., Schweizer Aircraft Corp., prepared statement of 127
Trimble, Robert F., Procurement Roundtable:
Answers to follow-up questions 126
Prepared statement of 113
Turner, Ron, Computing Devices, Inc., for the Acquisition Reform Work-
ing Group:
Answers to follow-up questions 70
Preptired statement oi 47
SIMPLIFYING AND STREAMLINING THE
FEDERAL PROCUREMENT PROCESS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1995
House of REPRESE^^^ATIVES,
Subcommittee on Government Management,
Information, and Technology,
Committee on GtOvernment Reform and Oversight,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:35 p.m., in room
2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Stephen Horn (chair-
mam ofthe subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Flanagan, Davis, Fox, Bass, dinger,
Maloney, and Spratt.
Staff present: J. Russell George, staff director; Ellen B. Brown,
procurement counsel; Susan Marshall, procurement specialist; and
Andrew G. Richardson, clerk.
Mr. Horn. Ladies and gentlemen, the Subcommittee on Govern-
ment Management, Information, and Technology will come to
order. We have some excellent witnesses this afternoon, and we are
going to try to keep on schedule.
Let me remind the witnesses that your entire statement will be
automatically entered into the record. We ask you to then summa-
rize your statement in 5 minutes. We will abide by the 5-minute
rule. Each member of the panel alternating between Republicans
and Democrats will then have 5 minutes to question the panel.
Well have all witnesses speak first, then open it up to the Mem-
bers. We will have a second roimd of questions. Now, we won't be
able to meet everybody's needs in terms of the Members on ques-
tions, so bear with us if we ask you to respond to some written
questions to follow up. We will print your answers in the record as
submitted.
And you should also know at the beginning of this hearing that
it is the practice of the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight to swear in witnesses. And unless the witnesses agree to
the oath, they are not permitted to testify. That has been our con-
sistent rule over the last few years, regardless of the witness, and
regardless of his position.
We will swear in each panel as a panel. I would like the first
panel to come forward, and then I will have an opening statement,
and the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Bill dinger, who I'm
delighted has joined us, will give an opening statement. And Mrs.
Maloney, Representative from New York, will give an opening
statement. We would ask the other Members to file their opening
statements so we can then proceed with the panel.
(1)
If the first panel would come forward, we will swear you in. We
have Dr. Kelman, Ms. Preston, and Mr. Murphy. And I will intro-
duce each ofyou just before you testify, rather than all at once. Be-
cause nobody will ever remember who you are if we do it all at
once.
We thank you all for coming. You're well-known experts on this
subject.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Horn. The witnesses all affirmed. Thank you. Please be
seated.
Mr. Chairman, why don't you go first, and I'll follow you.
STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM CLINGER, A REPRESENTA-
F.
TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Clinger. I thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I'm
pleased to be here today to hear testimony from the knowledgeable
procurement community on their proposals for further streamlining
and simplifying the Federal procurement system.
Mr. Chairman, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994
was enacted last year to reform the Federal procurement system.
Despite the fact that the U.S. Government spends approximately
$200 billion a year on the procurement of needed goods and serv-
ices, the procurement system has operated in an inefficient and, I
might say, Byzantine way in recent decades.
It has been burdened with an outmoded and fragmented statu-
tory foundation and regulatory and procedural proliferation beyond
comprehension. FASA certainly was a direct attack on a system
that had gone haywire. But we must go further.
The bill that I introduced last Friday, along with Chairman
Spence and Chairman Oilman, is just the beginning for this next
phase of streamlining and simplifying the Federal procurement
process. Although we do not intend a new procurement reform ef-
fort to be as comprehensive as FASA, we must continue to push for
reforms which will make the Federal procurement system work
better and cost less.
And I might say that we are looking forward with great anticipa-
tion to working with the administration. I know that the adminis-
tration has a bill forthcoming which I think we can work in har-
mony with in cooperation to achieve our joint goals, our mutual
goals, which are to make the procurement system work better, cost
less, and be more competitive.
So I look forward to that effort. And I had a chance to talk with
Dr. Kelman and Ms. Preston about this matter. And we are looking
forward to that cooperative effort. I look forward to hearing from
our witnesses today and to working with them and our colleagues
from the other side of the aisle on further simplification of the
streamlining processes.
I would also like to make note of the fact that my predecessor
and mentor in my present capacity, Mr. Frank Horton, who I
learned a great deal about this job from, is in the audience. And
we're delighted to have him with us.
[The prepared statement of Hon. William F. Clinger follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. William F. Clinger, a Representative in
Congress From the State of Pennsylvanl\
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be here today to hear testimony from the knowl-
edgeable procurement community on their proposals for further streamlining and
simplifying the Federal procurement system.
As you noted, Mr. Chairman, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994
was enacted last year to reform the Federal procurement system. Despite the fact
that the \JJS. government spends approximately $200 billion a year on the procure-
ment of needed goods and services, the procurement system has operated in an inef-
ficient and Byzantine way. It has been burdened with an outmoded and fragmented
statutory foundation, and regulatory and procedural proliferation beyond com-
Srehension. FASA certainly was a direct attack on a system that had gone haywire,
ut we must go ftirther.
The bill that I introduced last Friday along with Chairman Spence and Chairman
Oilman is just the beginning for this next phase of streamlining and simplifying the
Federal procurement process. Althou^ we do not intend a new procurement reform
effort to De as comprenensive as FASA, we must continue to pusn for reforms which
wiU maJce the Federal procurement system work better and cost less.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and to working with them and
our colleagues from the other side of the aisle on further simplification and stream-
lining proposals.
Mr. Horn. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Representative Maloney.
STATEMENT OF HON. CAROLYN MALONEY, A REPRESENTA-
TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Mrs. Maloney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Last year, this committee reached a bipartisan consensus that
the Federal acquisition svstem was fundamentally flawed and
needed to be fixed. Federal procurement was complicated and con-
fUsing, wasting billions of scarce taxpayers' dollars.
The 200 billion a year spent by the Federal Government purchas-
ing goods and services oflen went to pay for unnecessary paper-
work and duplicative requirements, the committee's consensus
crystallized into the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994,
FASA.
In broad terms, FASA stands for the proposition that the Federal
Government should, whenever possible, purchase commercial
items, reduce the need for cost or pricing data, encourage the use
of commercial financing practices, establish an electronic method
for Federal purchasing, and reduce the number of meritless bid
protests through the process of agency debriefings.
FASA was passed by this committee with strong bipartisan sup-
port only after extensive consultation with most of the witnesses
who will be testifying here today, including the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy, the Department of Defense, and representa-
tives from large and small defense, aerospace, and other commer-
cial sector companies.
Now, FASA must be implemented. Last week, OFPP adminis-
trator Steven Kelman testified that while the administration is
ahead of schedule on drafting the FASA regulations, several of the
We
most important regulations still have not been proposed. can all
anticipate that it may be many more months before all of the final
FASA
regulations are issued.
The Deputy Undersecretary for Acquisition Reform at the De-
partment of Defense, Ms. Preston, testified that agency officials are
now being educated about the requirements of FASA. However, it
is difficult to see how agency officials can be adequately trained on
FASA
FASA's requirements until the regulations are finalized.
My point is that much work remains to be done by the adminis-
tration and this committee on FASA. I also want to note that the
chairman of the full committee introduced a procurement bill last
Friday, and I look forward to subcommittee hearings on that par-
ticular bill.
Mr. Chairman, we need a procurement system that is driven by
full and open competition, a system that encourages creativity and
innovation, and a system that carefully balances the cost and the
value of the goods and services purchased by the Federal Grovem-
ment.
I want to applaud the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Horn,
for calling this hearing and for putting together a fair and balanced
list of witnesses. I look forward to hearing their testimony. Thank
you very much.
Mr. Horn. Thank you very much for your thoughtful statement.
I believe Mr. Fox wants to insert a statement in the record.
STATEMENT OF HON. JON FOX, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Fox. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Indeed, the Federal procurement purchases from the private sec-
tor provide the opportunity for participating businesses to expand
and new service-oriented companies be created.
Procurement expenditures generate secondary and related
consumer spending, and I'm loolung forward to working with sub-
committee Chairman Horn and Chairman dinger, along with the
other members of the committee, to evaluate the priorities and to
address these issues.
And I'll submit, if I may, Mr. Chairman, with your permission,
my
the rest of statement for the record.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Jon Fox follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Jon Fox, a Representative in Congress From
THE State of Pennsylvania
Mr. Chairman, federal procurement has become a prominent issue of debate.
Therefore, I am glad we are holding this hearing today.
Indeed, the federal procurement purchases from the private sector provide the op-
portunity for participating businesses to expand and new service-oriented companies
to be created. Procurement expenditures generate secondary and related consumer
spending.
However, the growth of federal procurement during the past decade has resulted
in a proliferation of complex and overlapping federal regulations that often hinders
an agency's ability to procure the best goods and services at the lowest cost.
The Federal Streamlining Act, signed into law last year, was a step in the right
direction. Nevertheless, the measure does not reach far enough. We need to move
ahead with the fundamental objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency
ofthe procurement ofproperty and services by government agencies.
Procurement reform is one of Chairman dinger's priorities and I look forward to
working with him on this issue.
STATEMENT OF HON. STEPHEN HORN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. Horn. Thank you very much. Representative Fox.
I will put my own statement in the record, and just make one
comment that last Friday, Chairman dinger, along with the chair-